Controlling device for elevators



(No Model.)

A. B. SEE & W. L. TYLER. CONTROLLING nnvm; FOR ELEVATORS.

No. 531,070. Patented Dec. 18, 1894.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO 13. SEE AND WALTER L. TYLER, OF BROOKLYN, NE\V YORK.

CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR ELEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,070, dated December18, 1894.

Application filed August 24, 1894. Serial No. 521,186. (No model.)

To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ALONZO B. SEE and WALTER L. TYLER, citizens of theUnited States, residing in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State ofNew York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements inElectricElevators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric elevators and has for its object toprovide for an easy starting of an elevator and to permit the speed anddirection of movement to be varied by control of a switch on the car.

In carrying out our invention we mount on the car a controller or switchprovided with a series of contacts for reversing or varying the speed,said contacts leading through a flexible cable to a motor in thebasement or other part of a building, where are also placed theregulating devices for controlling the speed of the motor.

The several features of novelty of the invention will be moreparticularly hereinafter explained, and will be definitely indicated inthe claims appended to this specification.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the invention, is showndiagrammatically a system embodying our improvements.

A represents a controller or switch mounted upon a suitable insulatingplate or frame in the car, but which, for convenience of illustration,is shown outside of the car. The controller is provided with a pivotedlever electrically connected with one of the electric mains 1, 2,through a flexible cable leading from the car.

The switch lever is provided with two contact shoes 3, 4, the former ofwhich is electrically connected with the body of the lever, and thelatter of which is insulated therefrom. Contact shoe 3 co-operates withcontact studs 5 and 6, the former of which controls the circuit of asolenoid 7, and the lat ter of a solenoid 8.

All conductors leading from the controller A may be grouped into a cableof sufficient length to connect with the motor apparatus and permit freemovement of the car.

The cores of the solenoids 7, 8 are hinged to a metallic reversing bar9, 9 on opposite sides of itspivot, the two arms 9, 9 beinginsulatedfrom each other. The bar is normally maintained in a horizontalposition, or a position in which the motor is open-circuited, by aweight 10 suitably supported on opposite sides of the pivot. Thereversing bar is pivotally connected with the circuitclosing arm 11 insuch a way that a movement of the bar in either direction will close thecircuit.

The circuit-closing arm 11 carries at its outer end two metallicbridge-plates insulated from each other, which, when depressed,electrically connect contact-plates 12, 12 and 13, 13, plates 12 and 13being connected with the two sides of the supply main. The controller Ais also provided with contacts 1%, 15 which may be bridged by plate 4 ineither direction of its movement.

Stop-pins 16, 16 are provided to limit the movement of the controllerlever. Contacts 14, 15 are the terminals of a normally open shunt aroundthe armature of a motor 17, said shunt including a solenoid 18 forregulating the speed of the motor. The core of this solenoid controls anarm 19 co-operating with a series of resistances, by which, when thesolenoid is energized, resistance will be cut into the fieldmagnetcircuit of the motor and thus weaken the field and permit the motor totake a higher speed.

A solenoid 20, connected across the two supply conductors and normallyopen at contact-plates 13, 13, is provided with a dashpot 21, which,when the circuit is closed, retards the upward movement of the solenoidcore and permits a lever 22 to slowly cut resistance out of the armaturecircuit and thus accelerate the speed of the car.

The operation of the invention will now be understood.

The attendant first shifts the switch to contact 5 or 6 according to thedesired direction of travel, and in doing so closes the circuit from thepositive main through the controller lever to, say, contact stud 6, andthrough solenoid 8 to the negative main. The left arm of the reversingbar 9 will then be depressed into contact with plate 23 and the rightarm lifted into engagement with contact 24*. Simultaneously therewithcircuitclosing arm 11 will be depressed and the con- IOC contact-plate25 with which the right arm of the reversing bar is in contact, thencethrough the right arm of the reversing bar 9, thence to contact-plate24:, lever 22, resistance, the armature of the motor, contact-plate 23with which the arm 9 of the reversing bar is in contact, across the arm9 to contact-plate 25,

thence to contact-plate 12 and across the bridge-plate 12 to 12 and backto the negative main. Simultaneously with the. closure of the motorcircuits the solenoid 20 is brought into circuit by the bridge-plateengaging contact-plates 13, 13. The resistance in the armature circuitis therefore gradually cut out and the speed of the motor increased. Theemployment of the dash-pot 21 and the resistance controlled by lever 22insures a slow start of the motor and prevents aburning out of its coilsby giving it time to start up and acquire sufficient counter electromotiveforce to insure its safety. A continued move ment of thecontroller lever, however, by the attendant will bridge contacts 14,15and cut into circuit solenoid 18 which is in a shunt around the armatureand will therefore not draw sufficient current to actuate its switchuntil the armature has attained considerable counter electromotive-force. When, however, sufiicient current is shunted through thesolenoid 18 to actuate its core, resistance is gradually cut into thefield circuit, weakening the magnetization and permitting the armatureto gradually attain a still higher speed. On the other hand, in bringingthe elevator to a stop the switch on being thrown away from contact 14or 15 immediately increases the strength of the field by cutting thesolenoid 18 out of circuit and permitting the lever 19 to cut outresistance, thereby slowing down the motor before the armature circuitis opened and gradually bringing the motor to a stop. As will be seen,in the normal position of the arm 19 there is no extra resistance in thefield-magnet circuit.

Should the attendant desire to reverse the direction of travel of themotor he will throw his lever to the left, thus first engaging stud 5and bringing solenoid 7 into action, producing a reverse tilt of theswitch arm 9, 9 which closes the motor circuit but reverses thedirection of current through the armature in a manner which will beclearly understood upon examination of the drawing.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. An electric elevator provided with a normally open-circuited drivingshunt-wound motor, a controller mounted on the car, connections forclosing the circuit when the controller is operated and graduallyincreasing the speed of the motor, and a circuit-closing device on theelevator for gradually varying the resistance of the field-magnetcircuit.

2. An electric elevator provided with a stationary shunt-Wound motor, amagnetically controlled reversing switch and circ nit-closer at or nearthe motor, a resistance in the armature circuit, a regulator forgradually cutting it out, a regulator for gradually varying theresistance of the field-magnet circuit, and a controller mounted on thecar provided with contacts for controlling the reversing switch, thecircuit-closer and the fieldmagnet resistance.

3. An electric elevator provided with a stationary shunt-wound electricmotor, a circuitcloser and reversing switch at or near the motor, acontroller mounted on the car, electrical connections for operating theswitch and circuit-closer, a gradually variable resistance in thearmature and field-magnet circuits, respectively and solenoids forsuccessively operating them and thereby varying the motor speed when thecontroller is manipulated.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

New York, August 1, 1894.

ALONZO B. SEE. WALTER L. TYLER.

Witnesses:

R0131. H. READ, HENRY W. EATON.

